Artificial intelligence and Christmas

TOMORROW is Christmas, a day that carries religious as well as secular significance in the western world. For Christians, the day is celebrated as the day on which Jesus Christ was born in a manger as the son of God, of virgin birth to two young people, Mary and Joseph. Christmas is preceded by the period of Advent, a four-week period during which there is a spiritual preparation for the coming of Christ and much foretelling of the birth of baby Jesus. For individuals of more secular persuasion, the day is the cumulation of a period of anticipatory joy, punctuated by extensive shopping (consumerism), decoration of house and home, the purchasing of gifts for friends, family, and loved ones, and preparation of food and drink for the family gathering that brings together many from both near and far. The two approaches to the season are not, however, mutually exclusive.